Diverse Candidates Win Seats in U.S. Government

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Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois who was elected to the Senate, at her election-night party in Chicago on Tuesday, celebrating her win over the incumbent senator, Mark Kirk.CreditCharles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Hillary Clinton made history as the first female presidential nominee on the ballot, but the 2016 election saw other, more successful attempts by candidates from several states entering uncharted territory and breaking barriers.

Here are some examples of notable campaigns that reflected the country’s growing ethnic, social and gender diversity.

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris, 52, the Attorney General of California, became the first black woman elected to represent the state in the United States Senate on Tuesday night. She defeated Representative Loretta Sanchez in California’s first Democrat-only race for that office, the result of the top-two primary system introduced by a 2010 ballot initiative.

Ms. Harris’s mother was born in India and came to the United States to study science, while her father grew up in Jamaica, according to her biography.

Catherine Cortez Masto

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Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, thanks supporters Tuesday night in Las Vegas after winning the Nevada senate race to succeed Harry Reid.CreditIsaac Brekken for The New York Times

After a close race fueled by record outside spending, Catherine Cortez Masto, 52, a Nevada Democrat, became thefirst Latina United States senator. She defeated Representative Joe Heck to fill the seat of Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader, who is retiring after three decades in the chamber.

Tammy Duckworth

Representative Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, defeated Senator Mark S. Kirk, who had been seen as perhaps the most imperiled incumbent Republican in the Senate. Ms. Duckworth is the first candidate of Thai heritage — she was born in Thailand to a Thai mother of Chinese descent — to win a seat in the Senate.

Ms. Duckworth, 48, is a United States veteran who lost her legs in the Iraq war after the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade in 2004.

“It just shows you how diverse we are becoming when our female veterans who are wounded are reaching some of the highest offices in the country,” said Mark N. Strand, the president of the Congressional Institute.

Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar made history on Tuesday night, becoming the nation’s first Somali-American legislator after a commanding victory in a Minnesota House race, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Minnesota is home to the nation’s largest Somali immigrant population. And Ms. Omar, a Muslim who faced only nominal Republican opposition in a Minneapolis district, continued an unlikely political journey that began amid the Somali civil war and a Kenyan refugee camp, the newspaper said.

Kate Brown

When Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon resigned in 2015, it paved the way for Kate Brown, a Democrat, to inherit the job as secretary of state at the time. Her swearing-in made her the first openly bisexual governor in the United States.

After she was appointed governor, Ms. Brown banned so-called gay conversion therapy and extended protections for transgender students in Oregon schools.

“Kate Brown hasn’t just made history, she’s made life better for countless L.G.B.T.Q. people in Oregon during her career in public service,” said Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Pramila Jayapal and Cyrus Habib

Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, will become the first Indian-American woman to serve in the House of Representatives after she defeated Brady Walkinshaw in Washington’s Seventh Congressional District.

The 52-year-old state senator, an immigrant-rights activist, captured the vote as of early Wednesday in the contest between the two Democrats vying for the seat of Representative Jim McDermott, who is retiring, The Seattle Times reported.

Cyrus Habib, 35, a Democrat from Bellevue, defeated a conservative radio host and pastor, Marty McClendon, to win the office of lieutenant governor.